# What do you dislike about the pipe hobby?



## Rascal (Jan 29, 2010)

One of my biggest gripes is about meerschaum pipes. I would like to own more of them but I hate the crazy carved up designs of most of them. If you get one that is not in the shape of an animal or man's head it tends to be a smaller bowl which I do not find as useful. I have 3 of them. One church warden with a small bowl, one normal size stem with a small bowl and one good one that has a design on the bowl but is not in the shape of anything other than a pipe.


----------



## SmokinDragon (May 31, 2009)

eBay Store - meerfan's Meerschaum Store: IMP Meerschaum Pipes, IMP CLASSIC Meerschaum Pipes, Other Pipes


----------



## Rascal (Jan 29, 2010)

SmokinDragon said:


> eBay Store - meerfan's Meerschaum Store: IMP Meerschaum Pipes, IMP CLASSIC Meerschaum Pipes, Other Pipes


That is a much better selection that I have seen on other sights but most of those are still pretty ugly to me. There is only one on that entire page that I would even consider buying and it is $180. The pipe I own that I like has the perfect amount of carving so it is not too plain or too ridiculous. The smooths are ugly, lattice is a no, and I don't play golf. If I am going to pay close to $200 for a pipe I have to love it and meerschaum carvers just don't hit my personal tastes.


----------



## Arctic Fire (Jan 17, 2010)

I.M.P. Meerschaum Pipes at Smoking Pipes .com

Meerschaum Pipes

Pipes - Meerschaum


----------



## paracite (Jan 8, 2010)

I don't like the fact that I'm not allowed to smoke indoors most of the time. And that there aren't more pipe smokers around! (I don't like smoking with cigarette smokers really)


----------



## JohnnyFlake (May 31, 2006)

Do a search for "Baki Meerschaum Pipes". You will find his site as part of another site. He makes some of the best Meers in the word and many are simple, standard pipe shapes.

Buy one, you won't be sorry!!!


----------



## Brinson (Oct 28, 2007)

I dislike how often I have to relight.


----------



## IHT (Dec 27, 2003)

try this site.
bakipipes


----------



## commonsenseman (Apr 18, 2008)

The only thing I dislike about pipe smoking is that tobacco costs money. If it were free my TAD wouldn't leave me sleeping on the couch ipe:


----------



## Rascal (Jan 29, 2010)

Next time I am in the market for a new pipe I will check some of those suggestions out. I am concentrating on tobacco at the moment.

Ok here is a BIG one... I hate people telling me that smoking a pipe or a cigar is bad for me.


----------



## dmkerr (Oct 27, 2008)

Rascal said:


> One of my biggest gripes is about meerschaum pipes. I would like to own more of them but I hate the crazy carved up designs of most of them. If you get one that is not in the shape of an animal or man's head it tends to be a smaller bowl which I do not find as useful. I have 3 of them. One church warden with a small bowl, one normal size stem with a small bowl and one good one that has a design on the bowl but is not in the shape of anything other than a pipe.


The solution to your problem is simple. Buy a Baki pipe from www.bestmeerschaums.homestead.com.

Or an Altinok from www.altinokpipes.com.

Or an IMP from www.smokingpipes.com.

I own several of each and most of them are oversized fairly standard shapes.


----------



## IHT (Dec 27, 2003)

i dislike the fact that there's so many pipes i want, and that i want to stop sampling and stick to maybe 6-10 blends... i really have no use for a ton of pipes anymore when i keep grabbing for the same 15 or so.
i also dislike not being able to have a local pub down the street from me that i can walk in, have a pint of guinness and smoke a pipe without hassle.


----------



## dmkerr (Oct 27, 2008)

I hate the entire concept of third-hand smoke and the dangers thereof, and I denounce it as utterly ridiculous! Eventually people will be whining about 17th hand smoke, which is when you have dreams about sitting in a room filled with non-smokers whose paternal great-great grandparents once considered the possibility of smoking.


----------



## Rascal (Jan 29, 2010)

dmkerr said:


> I hate the entire concept of third-hand smoke and the dangers thereof, and I denounce it as utterly ridiculous! Eventually people will be whining about 17th hand smoke, which is when you have dreams about sitting in a room filled with non-smokers whose paternal great-great grandparents once considered the possibility of smoking.


18th hand smoke is seeing this emote: :smoke:

I just took 5 seconds of your life away. I am deadly that way.


----------



## drastic_quench (Sep 12, 2008)

Rant:

I wish smoking in indoor public places was still allowed. Hospitals, airplanes, schools, and maybe even movie theaters I get that; it makes sense to not allow smoking there.

Banning smoking in bars was going much too far though. The main argument was more about the bar workers than the patrons. Their point being that the workers would have to breath 2nd-hand smoke forty hours a week or more. But I still think, so what? No one _has _to work in a bar, and no one opens a bar thinking they're in for a life of fresh air.

I think restaurants kind of sent us down this road with their idiotic smoking sections - where the only barrier is a shoulder-high wall. It was only a matter of time for non-smokers to get amped up about stamping out smoking all together.

Oh, and let's be real about it. 99% of the above was all about cigarette smoke, which is admittedly nasty anyhow. Oddly, a few times in the 90s in smoky bars, I'd get crap for smoking a pipe or cigar. The air around me was choked with that cruddy blue haze, but somehow a pipe was too offensive.

I can't imagine how much more I would've enjoyed various jobs I've held if I could've smoked a pipe inside, like they did back in the day right up through the eighties. I watched Oliver Stone's Wall Street the other day, and I couldn't believe the sight of all those businessmen smoking cigs, cigars, and even one pipe inside their offices and boardrooms!

Supposedly grocery stores used to have ashtrays at the end of the aisles. I can't imagine such a time.


----------



## Senator (Feb 8, 2008)

I dislike the fact that pipe smoking may not be the healthiest activity. Even though the negative aspects of it may be countered by the positives that this activity brings, I wish the negatives were less. I wish pipe smoke was filled with anti-oxidants and was actually beneficial (other than for mental purposes) for the body.

That way, I could smoke in the house and around my family with a great big smile on my face...I'd be doing them a favour!!!


----------



## KinnScience (Mar 11, 2009)

OK, there are a couple:

1. and this is by far the number one for me as some of you can testify to since you heard me gripe about it last year for weeks on end:

TONGUE BURN

Learning how to smoke a pipe properly killed my tongue for a long time. Even now I need to stop every once in a while to let my tongue relax a bit. I think I burned it so bad (yes I was determined to keep puffing like mad even though my tongue had nearly dried up and turned dark brown) that it really took a while for it to heal

2. New pipes, filling them halfway and getting that last bit of dottle (sp) so that the heel begins to form properly. 

I finally cut down my rotation (seems like a few of you had recommended I not try and break too many pipes in at once) and now have a couple pipes that are starting to cake up nicely, but it was a battle there for a while, and I have more than a few pipes that have been smoked once or twice that I have moved back into the drawer

3. That there are sooo many pipes that I want to smoke .. and only so many hours in a day (when I'm not working). Of course, if it were the "old" days" I'd be allowed to smoke in my classrooms... or at least without having to go outside in the winter.

4. That there are sooo many tobaccos that I want to smoke and only so many hours in a day ....

5. That there are soo many tobaccos and.... oh wait I already said that ... well, it is worth saying twice.:mrgreen:


----------



## paracite (Jan 8, 2010)

drastic_quench said:


> Rant:
> 
> I wish smoking in indoor public places was still allowed. Hospitals, airplanes, schools, and maybe even movie theaters I get that; it makes sense to not allow smoking there.
> 
> ...


I know that when smoking was still allowed, big name bars and restaurants in NY installed sophisticated (and very expensive) ventilation systems, shortly after smoking was banned indoors. It was a big waste of money.

And what's strange is that a lot of tobacco tax (not sure if it's from pipe taxes) is used to fund low-income children's insurance. It is so ironic because I'm sure they don't want smokers to stop, otherwise their funding will go downhill. Do they really want us to stop smoking?


----------



## smojscigarsmoker (Feb 9, 2010)

1st it was the burnt tonge and the lack of it staying lit more than 30 seconds at a time. Then came the knowledge of breaking in the bowl and smoking properly.

Once all of that was mastered I noticed the lack of other pipe smokers to share the hobby with. 

I still smoke a pipe, when off camping or enjoying the outdoors with absoutly nothing to do other than relax and make smoke rings. The rest the time, you can't beat a good stick.


----------



## Rascal (Jan 29, 2010)

paracite said:


> I know that when smoking was still allowed, big name bars and restaurants in NY installed sophisticated (and very expensive) ventilation systems, shortly after smoking was banned indoors. It was a big waste of money.
> 
> And what's strange is that a lot of tobacco tax (not sure if it's from pipe taxes) is used to fund low-income children's insurance. It is so ironic because I'm sure they don't want smokers to stop, otherwise their funding will go downhill. Do they really want us to stop smoking?


I think the thought process is that if everyone stopped dying of cancer it would be such a relief on our federal and state budgets there would be enough money to handle low income children's insurance.

What I don't get is how are you going to successfully end a multi-billion dollar industry without tanking the economy so bad we end up like a third world nation? Correct me if I am wrong but cigarettes are made in America with American tobacco, right? That means that all the money stays here. American industries are a dying breed I am not sure we could take a hit of that magnitude.


----------



## JohnnyFlake (May 31, 2006)

Brinson said:


> I dislike how often I have to relight.


My friend, that is a matter of technique with how you pack your pipe. It comes easy to some people and not so easy to others, such as myself. I don't have any links available at the moment, but do some searching on Google and/or You Tube and you will come up with several good videos on packing a pipe.

Take the time to learn to pack correctly, and to tamp correctly, and the problem of far TOO many relights will go away!


----------



## IHT (Dec 27, 2003)

Rascal said:


> I think the thought process is that if everyone stopped dying of cancer it would be such a relief on our federal and state budgets there would be enough money to handle low income children's insurance.


there's reports out now that healthy/in-shape people who live longer actually end up costing more money to take care of. don't have a link, but remembered reading it, and not from a "pro-smoking website" or anything like that... hell, could've been a link on msn.com or something like that.

i grew up with my mom and dad being 3 pack a day smokers each... i can recall many a time my mom and dad lighting up cigs while we were out at dinner like it was no big deal.
and just like it was in Germany up until Jan 08. that was great to finish a good meal and be able to sit back, enjoy a pipe or cigar, and not have anyone bitch about it (unless there was some a-hole american that you worked with bitching about it). bah...

yep, i agree with some of you, if i were able to smoke in my office indoors, it would make the day so much better. i can't even begin to imagine how much tobacco i'd be able to try (or go through).


----------



## travclem (Apr 22, 2008)

paracite said:


> I know that when smoking was still allowed, big name bars and restaurants in NY installed sophisticated (and very expensive) ventilation systems, shortly after smoking was banned indoors. It was a big waste of money.
> 
> And what's strange is that a lot of tobacco tax (not sure if it's from pipe taxes) is used to fund low-income children's insurance. It is so ironic because I'm sure they don't want smokers to stop, otherwise their funding will go downhill. Do they really want us to stop smoking?


 It doesn't matter to them, they'd just raise everyone's taxes to fund it.


----------



## Brinson (Oct 28, 2007)

Alot of our financial problems heathcare wise come from not people who develop lung cancer, but from people who live into their 80s, 90s, or higher, and require constant healthcare.


----------



## MarkC (Jul 4, 2009)

I hate the way the floor gets crunchy where I smoke if I don't vacuum often enough.


----------



## drastic_quench (Sep 12, 2008)

Rascal said:


> I think the thought process is that if everyone stopped dying of cancer it would be such a relief on our federal and state budgets there would be enough money to handle low income children's insurance.
> 
> What I don't get is how are you going to successfully end a multi-billion dollar industry without tanking the economy so bad we end up like a third world nation? Correct me if I am wrong but cigarettes are made in America with American tobacco, right? That means that all the money stays here. American industries are a dying breed I am not sure we could take a hit of that magnitude.


They could let Phillip Morris grow and sell marijuana. $$$


----------



## DSturg369 (Apr 6, 2008)

I don't believe it's been posted yet but if it has, my apologies.... Yet another site for larger Meer's - AND Meerschaum Pipes - In-Stock

As for my personal dislikes....

- The Anti's and their views being forced down our throats.
- The taxes they impose at THEIR discretion and without due representation.
- So many brands & blends, so little time & money.
- Rim Charring. - I know, I know, it's actually only a slight blackening but it's a pain.
- Aging - I know it's fun to collect and age but when a fella wants a good smoke he just wants a good smoke and doesn't want to wait. This could also be a plus I suppose.
- Finding a brand/blend you really REALLY like and then BAM!!!... It gets discontinued, and before you could stock up.

That's about it for now I guess.


----------



## Rascal (Jan 29, 2010)

IHT said:


> yep, i agree with some of you, if i were able to smoke in my office indoors, it would make the day so much better. i can't even begin to imagine how much tobacco i'd be able to try (or go through).


It is not as much as you might think, at least not for me. I smoke for awhile and the pipe gets put in a holder where it goes out so one bowl can last for a couple of hours due to intermittent smoking.


----------



## gibson_es (Jan 23, 2010)

i hate having to keep track of it. i keep misplacing the dang thing. funny. never lost a cigar or my humidor.....hmmm.


----------



## PinkFloydFan (Oct 1, 2009)

Nothing really.. 

Maybe the fact that this is a slippery slope that seems to slide on into an abyss of sorts.

But I am very glad I switched from Primarily Cigars to My Pipe.

Vin


----------



## slyder (Mar 17, 2009)

right now i have no dislikes about pipe smoking. the only thing i dred is summertime when i dont have any coat pockets to store my pipes and tobacco in. Sure i can leave them in my truck or in my saddlebags on the Road King but thats a pain. Guess i could dig out my leather fanny pack that doubles as a gun holster.


----------



## Jaxon67 (Dec 1, 2008)

I dislike people coming up to me and asking me what's in my pipe. Expecting it to be something other than pipe tobacco.


----------



## Tom Gooding (Jan 11, 2010)

I hate that I decided to take up the hobby in the winter and that I have to smoke outside. :tsk:


----------



## Hermit (Aug 5, 2008)

Cleanin' em.


----------



## plexiprs (Nov 18, 2005)

> What do you dislike about the pipe hobby?


How gall darn slow everyone is in recognizing the total futility, and wastefulness of the pipe hobby and sending me your pipes, tobaccos and accessories as penance.


----------



## juni (Oct 16, 2009)

Jaxon67 said:


> I dislike people coming up to me and asking me what's in my pipe. Expecting it to be something other than pipe tobacco.


I agree. Why do people assume it is "that thing"?

Other than that I hate how expensive it can get, and also the smoking bans everywhere. Also: Many people assume you pick up smoking because it is "cheaper than cigarettes" and that you smoke cheap store brands.

For big meers, I got this Altinok one and it is enormous:










(it isn't as pristine white anymore)


----------



## David M (Mar 11, 2009)

MarkC said:


> I hate the way the floor gets crunchy where I smoke if I don't vacuum often enough.


:lol: Good one and true.

***

To the people having difficulty with keeping her lit.
First off, as with everything, practice makes perfect and the more you smoke, the better you will get.

In general though it should be thought of as creating a nest of fire inside the tobacco and carefully feeding the nest to ensure it stays lit for a while.
Once that layer of ash develops on top, it will act as a top side barrier to keep it in tact and lit.
You just gotta play around and get used to it more.

And start off by lighting the heck out of it. Assuming of course that your bowl is broken in and has some cake / protection on it for the naked wood inside.

Light her the heck up. Puff puff away to get it going.
Then you can relax with the lighter and it will do it's thing.

And there is nothing wrong with relighting. Everybody does it. Everybody has to do it. It basically is not an indicator that you do not know what your doing.

Dry your tobacco as well. Tobacco that is too wet will not only burn hot, but will not stay lit as easily requiring more lighting.

It'll all come with more smoking so puff away.


----------



## dmkerr (Oct 27, 2008)

juni said:


> For big meers, I got this Altinok one and it is enormous:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Uh-oh... pipe envy rearing it's head! NICE pipe! I just ordered one from Altinok - not here yet. It's a full bent bulldog but it has a 3 inch deep bowl with a 1 inch diameter. It'll be a nice counterpart to my Baki dublin with the same measurements. Can't wait to get it. And Sinan Altinok is a stand up guy. I accept the problems in dealing with somebody like Yanik when there's a guy like Sinan (and Deniz Ural for Baki pipes) to offset. :amen:

Now... back to our regularly scheduled thread. Pardon the interruption!


----------



## DubintheDam (Jun 5, 2007)

I dislike the fact that there are so many bad tasting and nasty tongue burning blends out there, how some can be so perfect and some such total crap...this annoys me. Many of these blends rely on people not knowing any better and frankly they put so many people off the joys of pipe smoking, how many people never really persisted with pipe smoking because they never tried anything other than Borkum Riff? Companies that put out such blends do no favors for themselves or pipe smokers in general.


----------



## ChronoB (Nov 4, 2007)

Guys, we're living in the golden age of pipe tobaccos. There are so many good tobaccos for every taste out there at a time when pipe smokers are as rare as can be. Amazing! Mass produced drugstore blends are the exception, not the rule. And although most of the great pipe brands of yesteryear are long gone there are still many great pipes produced today, at all price levels. Even if you want an old pipe the estate market is booming. 

So, what do I dislike? I dislike the fact that we've come to this hobby at a time when smoking in general is at its most vilified state. I dislike the fact that I look at old city photos and see a tobacconist on every corner, and today we're down to one "pipe" shop in my city. If it weren't for the cigar boom of the 90s I can't even imagine how bad things would be today. I dislike the fact that pipes and cigarettes get lumped together by the general public. And I dislike the fact that through taxation, further regulation, etc. our hobby could become prohibitively expensive, or simply die out altogether. We all have to be ambassadors of pipe smoking, otherwise we'll all have a lot more to dislike.


----------



## Amlique (Sep 9, 2009)

ChronoB said:


> So, what do I dislike? I dislike the fact that we've come to this hobby at a time when smoking in general is at its most vilified state. I dislike the fact that I look at old city photos and see a tobacconist on every corner, and today we're down to one "pipe" shop in my city. If it weren't for the cigar boom of the 90s I can't even imagine how bad things would be today. I dislike the fact that pipes and cigarettes get lumped together by the general public. And I dislike the fact that through taxation, further regulation, etc. our hobby could become prohibitively expensive, or simply die out altogether. We all have to be ambassadors of pipe smoking, otherwise we'll all have a lot more to dislike.


Well stated.

What I dislike the most about pipe smoking is that I have no local resource for it, and therefore, no people to enjoy with. The closest lounge in 40 miles away, and they are getting sued by the city for allowing smoking inside after the city just gave them a permit to serve beer.
I am lucky enough to have found exactly what I like to smoke and have sufficiently stocked up for this year. Around June I will reorder in the same quantity so that I can age half of what I have purchased.


----------



## Amlique (Sep 9, 2009)

Oh, and a great, inexpensive outlet for Meers. Gets delivered straight from Turkey =)

Meerschaummarket


----------



## Rascal (Jan 29, 2010)

Amlique said:


> Well stated.
> 
> What I dislike the most about pipe smoking is that I have no local resource for it, and therefore, no people to enjoy with. The closest lounge in 40 miles away, and they are getting sued by the city for allowing smoking inside after the city just gave them a permit to serve beer.
> I am lucky enough to have found exactly what I like to smoke and have sufficiently stocked up for this year. Around June I will reorder in the same quantity so that I can age half of what I have purchased.


I have the same problem. All of my good local B&Ms are gone. There are a few places around but they dedicate all of 3-4 feet of space to the pipe and they are really only good for emergency pipe cleaner runs.

There is a lounge that is not too far away but it is expensive and since I can smoke inside I have a hard time justifying it.


----------



## mclayton (Dec 21, 2008)

Vilification, expense, and a lack of good places to go.


----------



## Stan41 (Sep 30, 2009)

I hate the fact that the nearest good tobacco and pipe store is 150 miles away.
Stan


----------



## IKMeerschaum (Feb 8, 2007)

I hate that I don't have enough time to smoke my pipe as much as I'd like.

I hate the fact that pipe tobacco stands a chance of being taxed at the same rate as Roll Your Own cigarette tobacco because greed ciggy tobacco vendors re-labelled their RYO tobacco as pipe tobacco to avoid the SCHIPs tax.

I hate that there are places outdoors I can't smoke in the city I live in (like the beach for crying out loud)!

I hate that people look down on meerschaum pipes as just being tiny bowled-pipes or overly ornate when there are so many great standard shapes out there if you look in the right places (JK!)


----------



## dmkerr (Oct 27, 2008)

IKMeerschaum said:


> I hate that people look down on meerschaum pipes as just being tiny bowled-pipes or overly ornate when there are so many great standard shapes out there if you look in the right places (JK!)


I hate the fact that no carver makes a magnum-sized standard shaped meerschaum pipe. It seems like most of the non-Brit pipe makers have a series of pipes that are oversized... large bowl bore and capacity. But not meer. Meer carvers tend to take the larger blocks and make the intricate carved meers that, while beautiful to look at, are not always easy to hold or smoke. A nice standard shape with a 2 inch deep bowl and a 1 inch diameter would definitely have a following. And these guys can do it. I've commissioned a couple of magnum-sized meers and they are as expertly executed as the finest briar pipes... they're just freakin' HUGE! If it holds 6 grams of pipe tobacco, it's just big enough. 8-10 grams and I'm in heaven. :mrgreen:


----------



## Rascal (Jan 29, 2010)

IKMeerschaum said:


> I hate that people look down on meerschaum pipes as just being tiny bowled-pipes or overly ornate when there are so many great standard shapes out there if you look in the right places (JK!)


You know it is funny because I have obviously been shown there are more available than I usually see but I among the places I normally shop and even when I do internet searches the same groupings of pipes would keep showing up. I am not sure who wants to smoke a pipe in the shape of a man's head but that just seems weird to me.

The problem, of course, is that I am a briar man through and through. So when I look at Meers I am looking for a pipe that looks like a pipe but not one that is plain jane. A plain jane in a briar usually means machine made and while I have several that are they were also cheap. So I am at odds with spending serious money on a pipe that from my perspective feels like it is machine made. I know I will not enjoy it at the same level and it will end up in my seldom smoked collection.

I know that my views may not be accurate but I also know that when it comes to buying a pipe it is a personal experience and whether your views are right or wrong about a pipe and its history it comes down to getting one you know you will like.


----------



## Mad Hatter (Apr 8, 2007)

Small airways and off-drilling plus the occasional herd mentality on pipe forums


----------



## indigosmoke (Sep 1, 2009)

paracite said:


> It is so ironic because I'm sure they don't want smokers to stop, otherwise their funding will go downhill. Do they really want us to stop smoking?


There is a very funny britcom called Yes, Prime Minister. They did an episode about this exact issue (taxing smokers to pay for health care for others/advertising tobacco/etc.) and it is honest (and funny) in a way you'd never see on TV in the US.

Check it out here if you like:

YouTube - Yes Prime Minister - S01E03 - The Smoke Screen - Part 1

It really is a very funny show if you are into politics or britcoms.


----------



## Mad Hatter (Apr 8, 2007)

indigosmoke said:


> There is a very funny britcom called Yes, Prime Minister. They did an episode about this exact issue (taxing smokers to pay for health care for others/advertising tobacco/etc.) and it is honest (and funny) in a way you'd never see on TV in the US.
> 
> Check it out here if you like:
> 
> ...


*The future's so bright I gotta wear shades*

YouTube - Future's So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades


----------



## Twiggz (Feb 15, 2009)

I hate the fact that I have PAD so bad... 
I hate that I so few people smoke a pipe these days
I hate that tobacco is bad for me
I hate that I need to remind myself to sip the pipe slower sometimes.
I hate smokers breath the next morning.


----------



## IKMeerschaum (Feb 8, 2007)

dmkerr said:


> If it holds 6 grams of pipe tobacco, it's just big enough. 8-10 grams and I'm in heaven. :mrgreen:


I'll keep that in mind next time we send an order off to our workshop. Perhaps a Colossus line of pipes? Do some shapes lend themselves to this more than others?

I think one of the reasons they do that (use big stones for more decorative works) is that the larger a good stone is the more it costs (as opposed to the same weight of smaller stones) so by going figural, they know they can charge more for the pipe to recoup some of that loss.

MJG


----------



## TheRealBonger (Sep 7, 2007)

IKMeerschaum said:


> I hate that I don't have enough time to smoke my pipe as much as I'd like.
> 
> *I hate the fact that pipe tobacco stands a chance of being taxed at the same rate as Roll Your Own cigarette tobacco because greed ciggy tobacco vendors re-labelled their RYO tobacco as pipe tobacco to avoid the SCHIPs tax.*
> 
> ...


Maybe you should realize it is not the greedy cig companies, but the greedy nanny state that is the problem. Otherwise, people jus trying to make a living. :???:


----------



## dmkerr (Oct 27, 2008)

IKMeerschaum said:


> I'll keep that in mind next time we send an order off to our workshop. Perhaps a Colossus line of pipes? Do some shapes lend themselves to this more than others?
> 
> I think one of the reasons they do that (use big stones for more decorative works) is that the larger a good stone is the more it costs (as opposed to the same weight of smaller stones) so by going figural, they know they can charge more for the pipe to recoup some of that loss.
> 
> MJG


I paid $300 for a magnum-sized full bent bulldog and $250 for the same size dublin. I think they took into account any losses they might sustain by making a large standard shape as opposed to a figural and charged me accordingly, would you agree?

My opinion is that while it takes more carving time for the figurals, it's harder to make a good English shape. They can't carve away a flaw by giving Bacchus an extra tooth. 

Both my magnum sized meers smoke better than any briar I've ever owned, regardless of price. No break in necessary (except to get the last of the wax taste out - maybe 2 bowls), no fear of burnout and the coloring aspect is a nice plus. Little to no fear of ghosting, although I have separate meers for strong latakia blends and aromatics - well away from VA's, vapers and burleys. I handle them no differently than I do an expensive briar and they can be cleaned the same way - with Everclear and a pipe cleaner. So yeah, a Colossus line of pipes would be good. And honestly, any shape will work. Savinelli's Hercules line features bulldogs, paneled billiards, pots, dublins, etc.


----------



## drastic_quench (Sep 12, 2008)

IKMeerschaum said:


> I'll keep that in mind next time we send an order off to our workshop. Perhaps a Colossus line of pipes? Do some shapes lend themselves to this more than others?
> 
> I think one of the reasons they do that (use big stones for more decorative works) is that the larger a good stone is the more it costs (as opposed to the same weight of smaller stones) so by going figural, they know they can charge more for the pipe to recoup some of that loss.
> 
> MJG


Just my two cents, but I think that bent brandies are perfect shapes to oversize. Whereas a big billiard ends up looking like a plain-ole scaled-up billiard, the bent brandy can fit a deceptive amount of pipe - be it briar or meerschaum - into a block much smaller than you'd need to oversize other shapes. I've never made a pipe myself, but that's just my view based on what I've researched.

One of the best examples would be Stanwell's 186:


----------



## keenween (Jun 25, 2007)

I hate hoarders...you know who you are, but you prefer to call it "cellaring"! Perhaps someday Stonehaven or Penzance will actually be in stock when I'm placing my yearly order.

I also hate helpful forum members making this place an enjoyable resource for information and experiences, especially the ones that pickup sarcasm! :thumb:


----------



## KinnScience (Mar 11, 2009)

Twiggz said:


> I hate the fact that I have PAD so bad...
> I hate that I so few people smoke a pipe these days
> I hate that tobacco is bad for me
> I hate that I need to remind myself to sip the pipe slower sometimes.
> I hate smokers breath the next morning.


Tobacco is bad for you?

No No ... you've been indoctrinated!

Here take a look at the latest trend:

Tobacco = good
Cigarettes = not so good
eating tobacco = bad (THAT must be what they mean when they say "bad for you")

You're not eating it .... are you?
___________________________________________
My wife says "I remember when your teeth were white before you started smoking a pipe" I told her that I was just trying to bring some "color" into our marriage.


----------



## Twiggz (Feb 15, 2009)

KinnScience said:


> Tobacco is bad for you?
> 
> No No ... you've been indoctrinated!
> 
> ...


well... maybe once or twice. Good to know I'm doing it right most of the time. :thumb:


----------

